At the time of writing 41,000 people have visited www.best-in.paris to place their votes across 190 categories. 33 days* of campaigning and voting remain to find the best services, accomplishments and experiences in Paris, so while some categories seem to be decided already, others will go down to the wire.

*Note – At the time of republishing 7 days of voting remain

COMMUNITY
When arriving in a new country many expats turn to the support and guidance of a community. Currently leading the Best Association category is AARO (43%), closely followed by AWG (33%). Facebook group English Speaking Mums in Paris is currently the expat choice for Best Women’s Network with 23% of the votes.

FAMILY
Given the diversity of after school activities available to expat families, the ultimate winners of this category are the children. However the current standings show that Matt Black’s Rock U has taken a commanding lead with 55% of the votes, followed by Derek Ferguson’s Roaming Schoolhouse (25%). The voting for Best family friendly café or restaurant currently shows Chez Hé at 21%, 2016 winner Mombini at 20%, and La Baleine (15%) are all in contention. Parc de Jeux (6ème) is currently considered the best playground, ahead of c (2ème) by 3%.

ESSENTIAL
There are some services which are essential to living in Paris. First we have the Best Bank Category. Current voting shows HSBC as a favourite with 23% of the votes, 2016 winner BNP Paribas sits with 18% and LCL has 11% of the votes. TransferWise is currently the expat choice for best method of sending money overseas (69%), international bank transfer, XEtrade, Paypal and MoneyGram make up the other 31% of votes.

PEOPLE
Best Expat Achievement is currently held by Sabri Ben for organising a 3rd TEDx in Paris bringing 800 attendees (66%), Aaron Marz – CTO – for receive seed funding for Roomchecking has 16% of votes, and Paul Taylor – featuring in his own TV spot on Canal+ (What the fu*k France) (10%). Ukranian artist and graphic designer Daria Goncharenko leads the Best Artist category with 48% of votes, while American portraitist Moe Delaitre sits closely behind with 38%. Early leader Liba Stambollion now trails with 12%.

With 12 starting nominations, the Best Musician, Band or Singer category is now between just two musicians. American/Filipino pianist John Florencio (35%) and American Jazz Singer Marvin Parks (29%). Violin teacher Camilla Radford-Furman leads piano teacher Bonnie Brown for the Best Music Teacher category by 16%.

LEARNING
Learning the language is top of most people’s list when they arrive. Currently leading the Best French School category is 2016 winner OISE, followed by Ecole Perl (16%),
Inlingua (12%) and Alliance Française (12%). My French Coach currently leads The Best Teacher/Tutor /Lesson category with 65%. Ahead of 2016 winner Hélène Phelipon (27%). The Best Culinary School category sees La Cuisine Paris leading with 46%. Le Cordon Bleu sits in second position with 17% and École Lenôtre at 8% is in third position. The Best Bilingual Montessori or Montessori Inspired School category is currently dominated by Rainbow school with 50% of votes.

HEALTH
American counsellor Vanessa Corbera, LCSW is ahead in the Best Child Therapist category with 40% of votes. The Best Couple Counsellor is a close affair with three nominees in contention; bilingual licensed clinical psychologist Anne Belgram Perkins leads at 36%, South African Antoinette Steenkamp claims 27% of the votes and American psychotherapist David Safier has 18% of votes. The Best English-speaking Dentist category is currently tied with Dr Jane Matkoski and American-Canadian Dr Alexandra Germain. Both currently level with 30% of the votes.

This year the Best Yoga category seems to have been decided at an early stage. With its low prices and dedicated teachers Affordable Yoga sits in first place.

VISIT
Giverny currently seems to be the expat choice for a day trip away from the capital with 39% of votes. Provins (16%), Versailles (13%) and 2016 trip choice Fontainebleau with 12% of votes are alternative options.

With its 360 degree panoramic views, the Montparnasse Tower Panoramic Observation Deck is a clear favourite for Best View of Paris with 32% of votes. The Sacre Coeur currently has 12% of votes and Tour Saint Jacques has 8%. Fat Tire Tours currently leads the Best Tour of Paris category with 33% of the votes, followed by last year’s runner up, Street Art Tour (32%). 2016 winner Sight Seeker’s Delight currently sits in 3rd place with 13% of votes.

STYLE
Best Fashion Blog is contested between 3 main blogs, Agentluxe (24%), Meetmeinparee (18%) and 2016 winner – Petite in Paris (17%). The Best Fashion Startup category has evolved into a head to head clash with Cuvh (53%) and Unidraft (45%). Best Fashion Designer is between Ngalala Yaba (51%) and Enoka Fonseka (45%), and Best Fashion Week Hotspot sees Le Jardin du Palais Royal with 45% of votes and Café de Flore with 27%.

ROMANCE & SPECIAL OCCASIONS
Passerelle Debilly footbridge is currently the preferred choice for Best Place to Propose in Paris, leading 2016 choice Pont Bir Hakeim by 15%. Pont des Arts is proving a popular choice for the Best Place To Kiss with 42%. With 80% of the votes, 2016 winner Fete in France seems to be on track to retain their title of Best Wedding Planner 2017, however, the Best Wedding Photographer category remains an open category, Sławomir Janicki currently leads with 31%, Krystal Kenney at 14% and Anna Moskal at 13% chase for top
spot.

Voting closes on August 14th. If these past 30 days have shown us anything, it’s that the positions are volatile, and with another 33 days remaining we can expect big changes across most of the categories. If you haven’t voted yet you can visit www.best-in.paris to choose your favourites. We look forward to bringing you the results in September when the special edition of Expatriates Magazine, Best of Paris 2017, will be distributed – a useful, practical catalogue of the best in Paris for expat residents.